Pottery has always played a crucial role in Nigel Slater’s cooking, both for the way it elevates a meal and also for the calm sense of fragility it brings to a room. Here, he reveals some of his favourite pieces – and the rising pottery stars to look out for
Last modified on Thu 25 Feb 2021 04.06 EST
Phil Rogers, who has died aged 69, was one of Britain’s leading potters and advocates for his craft. From his rural studio near the village of Rhayader in Powys, Wales, Rogers created work that drew on an eclectic range of global styles, from medieval German salt-glazed wares to 15th-century Korean porcelain.
His jugs, platters, bottles, teapots, bowls and cups were decorated with abstract brushwork, impressed marks, designs painted in wax-resist, or simply by a swipe of the fingers through a still-wet glaze, combining robust forms with a sense of spontaneity.
These pots embodied his lifelong belief in the value of potters using natural materials, sourced from their own environs. Rogers mixed a palette of soft greys, greens, browns and black glazes from wood ash, burning trees that had fallen or needed to be felled; he also used stone dust from nearby quarries and a red clay dug in his local woods.